Vikings continue climbing consensus power rankings after beating Packers

Minnesota has the chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win in Detroit on Sunday.

Dec 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

In beating the Packers on Sunday, the Vikings extended their win streak to nine games as the regular season draws to a close. Minnesota's narrow win sees them continue to climb the consensus power rankings.

Below is a compilation of where the Vikings place in power rankings from across the NFL media landscape...

The Athletic - No. 2 (Last week: No. 5)

The Vikings jumped up three spots in The Athletic's weekly power rankings, coming in behind only the Bills.

PFT - No. 3 (Last week: No. 3)

PFT's Mike Florio says the 2024 Vikings squad is the best Vikings team since "the days of Fran Tarkenton, Chuck Foreman, and the Purple People Eaters." Minnesota held onto their spot at No. 3 in PFT's rankings.

FOX Sports - No. 3 (Last week: No. 3)

FOX called Sam Darnold's rise from "$10 million afterthought" to "Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback" a great story, while keeping Darnold's Vikings squad locked in at the No. 3 spot.

SI.com - No. 4 (Last week: No. 4)

Minnesota retains their No. 4 position in SI's power rankings after a defensive performance that gave the Packers plenty of trouble through three quarters on Sunday.

CBS Sports - No. 4 (Last week: No. 4)

The Vikings have a chance to grab the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win on Sunday in Detroit. CBS, who kept the Vikings at No. 4 this week, says "that would be a heck of a season" for the Vikings if they can enter the playoffs with homefield advantage.

NFL.com - No. 4 (Last week: No. 5)

Minnesota moved up one spot in the NFL.com power rankings, with the league saying the Vikings "deserve their flowers" after rattling off their ninth consecutive victory.

ESPN - No. 4 (Last week: No. 5)

Like the NFL, ESPN moved Minnesota up one spot to No. 4 this week, noting the Vikings are "open-minded" about bringing Sam Darnold back next season.

Yahoo! - No. 5 (Last week: No. 5)

Yahoo has the Vikings the lowest (No. 5) among the power rankings we track each week. Despite the No. 5 spot, Yahoo declared the Vikings were the "most under-appreciated 14-win team in NFL history."

Division Watch

The Packers dropped slightly in the consensus power rankings after falling to the Vikings. Chicago continues dropping down power rankings after losing to the Seahawks 6-3 on Thursday night. Detroit rounded out the NFC North action by beating the 49ers 40-34 on Monday night, but dropped slightly in the consensus rankings.

Below reveals where NFC North teams rank in the compilation of power rankings. We averaged the rankings into one number for clarity.

Detroit Lions

Average ranking: No. 3.25 (Last week: No. 2.625)
Highest ranking: SI/ESPN - No. 2
Lowest ranking: PFT/FOX/The Athletic/Yahoo - No. 4

Green Bay Packers

Average ranking: No. 7.625 (Last week: No. 6)
Highest ranking: SI/NFL/Yahoo/ESPN - No. 7
Lowest ranking: FOX - No. 9

Chicago Bears

Average ranking: No. 25 (Last week: No. 24.75)
Highest ranking: ESPN - No. 23
Lowest ranking: FOX - No. 29

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